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Accolade for Imperial driver

2015-10-07 15:12

A driver for Imperial Cargo,Patrick Khumalo recently garnered high praise from a fellow road user who credits Patrick with preserving the lives of himself and his family on a dark, dangerous road in the Northern Cape.

“Robert Bresler, who took the time to contact Imperial with his uplifting story, urged us to commend Patrick for his ‘amazing driving’,” reveals technical executive Francois Ehlers, who received a letter and a call from Bresler.

“He told us that he was travelling with his family on a rather dangerous, dark road that leads to Graaff Rienet in the Northern Cape. When he came up behind an Imperial Cargo truck, he attempted to overtake it, but was thwarted in his efforts by driver Patrick Khumalo.”

“Each time I tried to overtake, the driver moved slightly to the right, to prevent me from doing so,” Bresler explained in his letter. “After three attempts, I realised that the driver was looking out for my safety, because each time I would be surprised shortly thereafter either by a dip in the road that prevented me seeing other cars, or an unexpected curve. Not too long thereafter, the driver indicated with his right indicators that it was safe for me to overtake, which I then did. I was not familiar with all the twists, turns and dangerous sections on this road, and I believe that Imperial’s driver protected our lives that evening, for which I am so very grateful,” he continued.

Bresler also reported that, later in the drive, he had encountered a “stop-and-go” roadworks section, and Patrick was the only truck driver who put on his hazard lights to warn oncoming cars that his truck was stationary in the road. “He also did a thorough inspection of his tyres and vehicle while waiting for the stop-and-go, to allow us to pass. It was then that I got out of my car and personally thanked him for his amazing driving skills, for looking out for my family, and for helping everyone around him to have a safer road trip.”

“We are extremely proud of Patrick, who is a credit to Imperial and our Road Safety campaign, through which the group, as one of South Africa’s biggest road users and a leader in mobility, aims to promote road safety in every respect,” concludes Ehlers.

Christo Theron, MD of Imperial Cargo stated that in our quest to become a benchmark in customer satisfaction and service delivery, Imperial Cargo Group has adopted world class quality standards with the certification of ISO 14001, 9001, 22000 and RTMS. We also pride ourselves on our extensive driver recruitment process and the training and development of our people. “Patrick Khumalo is an exemplary driver and a true Ambassador for Imperial Cargo”

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FleetWatch was launched in 1993 initially as a fleet risk management journal, and has since evolved into a trucking magazine covering all aspects of the trucking industry with the primary focus on the issues facing modern day truckers.